Cadet Kaden Hill is a certified pilot!  He had his solo flight, passed all his check rides and exams, and graduated!  We are so proud and excited for him.  This opportunity was available to him because of his involvement with JROTC.  Please contact Maj Richardson if you would like information on our JROTC program.  Chadrick.Richardson@ucps.k12.nc.us 

Union County Schools is changing their online payment provider from OSP to SchoolCash Online. SchoolCash Online is a secure way to pay for school activities, field trips, spirit wear, etc. using Visa, Mastercard, eCheck and Apple Pay (coming soon). We encourage all parents to register now, so you’ll be ready to receive email notifications when fees are added to your student’s account and make online payments as schools begin to add school items to the online catalog.  Click here to register.

Panther Global Trivia Team Competes in Academic WorldQuest 2023

The Piedmont Panthers Global Trivia Team competed against area high schools on Wednesday, November 8th at the Hilton Charlotte Center City Hotel in the Academic World Quest Competition. World Quest was created by the World Affairs Council of Charlotte and has grown into a nationwide international knowledge competition played by councils around the country.

This fast-paced game is played in 7 rounds of 10 questions each round, with 30-seconds for each question. Each team collaborates to answer the questions and submits their answer sheet at the end of each round. The team is advised by Mr. Brian Pitoniak and all students had a great time of fellowship, competing with some of the best schools in the region.

The following students competed in the World Quest Competition:

1.            World Flags: Chase Altman

2.            Geography of New Zealand : Marissa Williams

3.            History of Apartheid: Riley Kiser

4.            Politics in Latin America : Haylee Taylor

5.            AI, Social Media & Technology : Chase Altman

6.            Current Events : Marissa Williams

7.            Soccer: A Global Sport - Fun Facts about the World: Riley Kiser

We are very proud of our Panthers’ academic performance at the competition and look forward to the next competition!

Piedmont Warrior Scramble ‘23

Ready, set, go!  On October 14^th Piedmont High School JROTC NC-955 hosted the second annual Piedmont Warrior Scramble.  The event brought 6 schools and 73 JROTC cadets together to compete as teams of 4 to accomplish various physical feats across the muddy Piedmont High School obstacle course. As the only high school obstacle course operating in Union County, the course has 8 challenging obstacles, including a 7-foot wall climb and a 10-foot swing over a pool of water. This course is brought to you by the Fire Academy, giving cadets a chance to challenge themselves and each other to accomplish the course in their best time.  At the end of the day, there was lots of mud, lots of laughs, and a few tears as team Squishy Dinosaurs from Reagan High School took first place, followed by teams from Forest Hills and another from Reagan High School.  Out of 15 teams, our own Team Kraken led by Cadet Adetutu took 4th, missing the 3^rd place trophy by just 2 seconds!  Other Piedmont Teams led by Cadet Gabriel Curd and Kaden Hill took 6^th and 13^th place respectively.  Even though we didn’t get the trophies, all the cadets pushed themselves and had an amazing time.  Next up is Raiders Nationals November 17^th in Molena, GA where our cadets will compete against 49 other 10-person teams from around the country as they vie to be crowned Raiders National Champions!

Piedmont Students Earn Apprenticeship Credit

Many of our Piedmont students work summer jobs to earn money and gain work experience.  This past summer, a group of rising seniors earned an apprenticeship credit for their work at McGee Brothers.  Through the NC Apprenticeship program, Trent Hackney, Colby Hildreth, Greyson Beeber, Austin Wilson, and Wyatt Furr were able to turn their hard work into a graduation credit.  Work-based learning opportunities like apprenticeships allow students to “earn while they learn” and also gain valuable work experience to prepare for a future in trades or manufacturing.  CTE also offers work-based learning through summer and semester internships.  Seniors, Trent Hackney and Colby Hildreth, are currently participating in our CTE Senior Internship program.  Piedmont is excited to partner with local business and industry to help students gain valuable work experience and prepare for future careers.

Trent Hackney, Noah Cauble, Cameron Dorton, Troy Garcia, Austin Wilson, Colby Hildreth

 (Noah, Cameron and Troy are 2023 Graduates)

Colby Hildreth and Trent Hackney

Piedmont High School’s new Leos had their induction ceremony on September 25, 2023. The new inductees took their oath as Leos and pledged to serve the community along with the affiliated Lions Club. District Governor Susan O’Brien and District 31-0 Leo Clubs Co-Chair, Mark Gaylord, were guest speakers at the induction, and they gave speeches that warmly welcomed the new Leos. The Leo Club works alongside the Lions Club to partake in community service activities throughout the year. The club helps to facilitate leadership skills and camaraderie among the Leos that will last a lifetime.  Along with community service, the Leo Club also sponsors many events in the community throughout the year, such as the annual 4th of July event at the community center, the Thanksgiving day Turkey shoot, and many more events year-round. Without the Leo Club, many treasured community events would not be possible. Anyone interested in joining Leo Club for the 2024-2025 school year should please see Mr. Pitoniak for more information.

Written by Marissa Williams.

Meningococcal Vaccine Requirement: Important message for current 11th grade students regarding the Meningitis C vaccination requirement.  The first dose of Meningococcal vaccine (MCV) was given prior to the start of 7th grade as a school required vaccine.  North Carolina Immunization Law requires the second dose of MCV for all students entering 12th grade.

For complete details and explanations, please review the website https://immunize.nc.gov/schools/ncruleslaws.htm for NC general statutes 130A-157. If your child does not currently have evidence of the second MCV vaccine, please contact your child’s health care provider to obtain it.  Following administration of the vaccine, please submit a copy of the record to the School Nurse. This documentation must be obtained within 30 days of the start of the 2023-24 school year to meet this school enrollment requirement.

Thank you for your timely attention to this matter. If you have any questions, our School Nurse, Lisa Young, will certainly be available to you as a resource.  Please contact her at 704-296-3170.

Peachjar Digital Flyers: We have launched a new electronic flyer communication tool called Peachjar. View school-approved digital flyers.